Logistics company tackles diesel theft with help of outdoor PIR detectors

Optex has been involved in a project which integrates outdoor PIR detectors in a security system to protect assets at a large logistics operation in the UK

A five-acre logistics site in Scunthorpe blighted by break-ins and theft of diesel is now being protected by a system that includes a combination of 30 highly reliable detectors from OPTEX, a major detection technology manufacturer.

Established in 1995, Intake Transport operates one of the largest fleets on the road today. Although now based in Scunthorpe, the company also operates satellite depots in Sheffield, West Lothian and South Wales.

The depot in Scunthorpe experienced a number of incidents where diesel was being stolen direct from the tanks of the lorries, most severely over the bank holiday in August when it was closed for three days. Each vehicle holds at least £600 worth of diesel, and added to the cost of the damage to the bespoke painted vehicles when intruders tried to enter the cabs and steal scrap metal from the trailer, the overall cost to the business ran into many thousands of pounds.

Director of Intake Transport, Richard Burgin, approached local security company, Eyewatch Security for a solution. Managing Director, Dean Bolton designed a system suitable to meet the requirements of the site.

The system has been developed as a layered protection starting with the perimeter: five infrared AX model beams create a ‘virtual fence’ around the compound where the lorries are parked; six BX-80 outdoor PIRs provide a curtain of detection to protect the outdoor perimeter along the fence. Ten battery-operated high mount HX-80 sensors provide volumetric detection to secure the approach to the office building; and 25 VX-402 hardwired detectors add additional security at the entrance and around the rest of the site.

The extensive system is linked to five cameras that are remotely monitored at Eyewatch’s HQ so that if an intrusion is detected, the incident can be ‘seen’ and responded to. Each of the Intake drivers is given a code to set and unset the system so that they do not cause any false alarms.

Richard Burgin says they have not experienced any problems since the system was installed: “We haven’t had any attempted break-ins and no false alarms either, now that the drivers have become used to the routine. I am incredibly impressed with the reliability of the OPTEX detectors and the peace of mind this has provided us as a business.”

“Diesel and scrap metal theft has become a prevalent problem nationwide and in Scunthorpe, we are seeing many businesses suffering from similar problems as Intake Transport,” says Dean Bolton. “We have now installed a top level security system that will protect the compound and all of the valuable lorries within it for many years to come.”